Islamic Countries' Medical Universities Chancellors Meeting Commences at TUMS
Date: 2/19/2011
TUMSPR News: Medical University Chancellors from Islamic countries meet at Tehran University of Medical Sciences to establish a network for scientific collaboration on February 19, 2011.
Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) hosts Medical University Chancellors from Islamic countries on February 19, 2011. The meeting will last for two days and the main objective of the meeting is to establish a network for scientific collaboration.
In the opening speech, Dr. Ghazi-khansari, the head of TUMS International Relations, welcomed the guests from domestic universities, the authorities from the ministry of Health and Medical Education, the ambassadors from some of the Islamic countries and the chancellors from Turkey, Afghanistan, Syria, Pakistan and Malaysia, and Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) representative and mentioned the four objectives from the previous meeting on Kish Island in late May 2007 including establishment of an Islamic Countries' Medical Universities Network (ICMUN), a higher education ranking system, distance learning and medical ethics. He called the main agenda of the present meeting establishment of the network.
Dr. Bagher Larijani, TUMS Chancellor, welcomed the guests too and said the idea of cooperation among Islamic countries universities had formed 5 years ago with the aim of collaboration to share scientific experience in areas of common interest. He reassured the establishment of the network would play an important role in medical, educational, scientific and research collaborations and will pave the way for productive gains. He finally hoped the two-day meeting could bring about a model through which reliable and powerful ties could be established.
Niknam, the acting minister of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MoHME) and head of its International Relations office thanked TUMS for hosting the meeting and said TUMS is playing its important role to fulfill its due responsibilities in the Islamic World regarding its rich history and scientific capabilities. Emphasizing on the modern means of communication, Dr. Niknam called the establishment of a network for the exchange of scholarly information and distance learning very important, something that will enhance collaboration between medical universities and Islamic states alike.
Dr. Sadri, ISESCO representative, mentioned some of the challenges of the present time and said climate change, natural disasters, malnutrition and economic crises impose a heavy burden on medical systems and warn us of emerging diseases and unpredicted disasters, and the best way to tackle them lies in the development of collaborations through a network. He then added TUMS initiative in this subject is supported by its rich scientific background and its leadership in use of modern technologies in the treatment of diseases.
Dr. Mohagheghi, the vice-minister for education at MoHME, believed medical faculties have a dominant role among active scientific institutes and said Islamic countries had established large hospitals and medical education systems which were responsible for public health and its promotion far earlier than foundation of [many] European countries or that of the United States abut negligence, imposition of crusades, betrayal of governments made them fall behind.
Emphasizing on the establishment of a network among Islamic countries medical universities, Mohagheghi said that through removal of boundaries in science and research, exchange of faculties and cooperation in these critical times would lead to a twofold scientific advances and leadership an Islamic countries.
http://publicrelations.tums.ac.ir/english/news/detail.asp?newsID=22715
